This important article in the New York Review of Books discusses, among other
things, the tendency of "enhanced interrogation techniques" to produce false confessions.
In an opinion earlier this week, the Supreme Court noted the "mounting
empirical evidence that [interrogation] pressures can induce a frighteningly high percentage of people to confess to crimes
they never committed." Given this recognition, perhaps the Court will reconsider its lamentable holding that a confession
may still be admissible even when police lied to the suspect about evidence allegedly implicating him. This tactic
is among the leading causes of false confessions.
Kudos to Attorney General Eric Holder for dismissing charges against
former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens. Stevens' conviction on charges stemming from corruption was reversed because the prosecution
withheld important evidence. Such misconduct must be punished if it's to be deterred.
